Two polls released on Wednesday show many Florida Democrats are not sure who they will support in the 2016 U.S. Senate race.
With U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., looking at running for president and saying he wont run for a second term if he aims for the White House, Democrats could be looking at an open Senate seat.
U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy, D-Fla., announced on Monday that he was going to run for the Senate regardless of what Rubio does and the two polls show many Democrats across the Sunshine State are not familiar with him.
Public Policy Polling (PPP), a firm with connections to prominent Democrats, released a poll on Wednesday which shows 54 percent of Florida Democrats are not sure what they think of Murphy. A third of those surveyed -- 33 percent -- see him as favorable while 13 percent see him as unfavorable.
U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson, D-Fla., is slightly better known according to the PPP poll though 46 percent are not sure what they think of the Central Florida congressman while 32 percent see him as favorable and 21 percent view him in an unfavorable light. Grayson has left the door open to a Senate bid in 2016.
Not surprisingly, when Grayson and Murphy are matched up against each other, a majority of Florida Democrats -- 56 percent -- are not sure who they will back while 22 percent say Grayson and 21 percent are behind Murphy.
The PPP poll of 371 registered Florida Democrats was taken March 19-23 and had a margin of error of +/- 5.1 percent.
St. Leo University released a poll on Wednesday which also showed confusion in the Democratic ranks over who they would back in the Senate race. Two Democrats who announced last week while the poll was being conducted that they would not run -- former Gov. Charlie Crist, D-Fla., and U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., the chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) -- led the pack.
Crist took 33 percent in the St. Leo poll followed by Wasserman Schultz with 14 percent. U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor, D-Fla., took 8 percent followed by Murphy with 7 percent. U.S. Rep. Ted Deutch, D-Fla., who announced last week that he was not running and endorsed Murphy, pulled 4 percent. Former state Sen. Dan Gelber trailed with 1 percent.
The sample of Democrats came from the St. Leo poll of 522 Floridians which was taken from March 15-21 and had a margin of error of +/- 4 percent.
Crist announced on Wednesday he was backing Murphy in the 2016 U.S. Senate race. Crist had thrown the door open to running but, last week, said he would not make a third try for the Senate.
"Congressman Murphy will bring refreshing energy, integrity, and work ethic to the United States Senate," said Crist. "He knows it's all about the people -- that's why I know Floridians will join me in volunteering for and supporting Patrick early."
Despite Crist having spent most of his political career as a Republican before leaving the GOP to run for the Senate with no party affiliation in 2010, prior to joining the Democrats in late 2012, Murphy called Crist a loyal Democrat and welcomed his support.
"Gov. Crist is a champion for the middle class, a loyal Democrat, and a close friend, Murphy said. I am so grateful to him for his early support of this campaign, and look forward to continue working with him in the weeks and months ahead to fight for all Floridians in the United States Senate."
Crist also sent an email out to supporters on Wednesday, urging them to back Murphy.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or follow him on Twitter: @KevinDerbySSN
